International Flight Insurance

What is International Flight Insurance?

Airline Insurance is a safety shield that protects you in case of flight related mishaps. You can buy international flight insurance for both domestic and international flights. Individuals as well as families can get the benefits of flight insurance.
Flight insurance also protects them from any adversities because of the fault of the airline or its staff. It covers any losses that the insured may end up incurring in case of a flight related emergency.

Features of Flight Insurance/Airline Insurance

Following are some of the features of flight insurance:

• Tackles in-flight emergencies
• Covers both pre & post-flight-related emergencies
• Provides baggage insurance
• Provides benefits of health insurance
• Reimbursement for bounced bookings of hotels and airline

These benefits may vary from insurer to insurer, so make sure you check with the insurer before purchasing.

Why is Flight Insurance Important?

Travelling by air is one of the most preferred transports today, whether for a domestic trip or international. People prefer flights as they are the quickest way of reaching from one destination to another. Reduced airfare has made it economical as well as more convenient for people to opt for air travel. More and more people are travelling abroad for vacations and to pursue higher education.

However, anything adverse can happen before, during and right after the flight. This can be extremely uncomfortable and cost a lot of money. What will you do if you get hurt during in-flight turbulence? What if you end up missing a connecting flight because your inward flight arrived later than scheduled?

An emergency may also cause flight delay or cancellation. The airline may misplace your checked-in baggage. In all the circumstances, you will incur quite a loss and suffer a lot of inconveniences. By getting flight insurance, you can keep yourself and your family safe from any adverse situation and expense.

Coverage Under International Flight Insurance

Flight insurance safeguards an insured traveller against a variety of risks. While buying travel insurance, look at some of the risks that should be covered:

Trip Cancellation or Curtailment

There can be a situation arising before a journey that would make it difficult to continue with the trip. For example, the traveller may get hospitalised days before the journey.
Such situations will force the traveller to either postpone or cancel their trip altogether. Doing so would mean money loss, including non-refundable flight tickets. With the flight insurance, you can get compensation for these losses.

Accidental Death & Dismemberment

Trip insurance for flights covers any accidental death and dismemberment because of an unfortunate air accident. If the accident results in total permanent disability, the insurer will compensate you as per the flight insurance coverage. Moreover, if the injuries lead to an untimely death, the insurer will compensate the nominee.

Baggage Insurance

Airlines are infamous for their rough handling of check-in luggages. Baggage delays are common in case of international trips. The baggage either arrives late or is declared lost by the airline staff. In such a scenario, you will end up incurring unaccounted expenses on essentials such as clothes, toiletries and medicines.

This will not only upset your trip budget but will also ruin your travel plans. With airline insurance, you don't have to worry about these extra expenses as your insurer will cover them.

Flight Delay

Flight delays are a common affair. This can be because of weather conditions or some complicated technical reasons. A long flight delay can cause a lot of issues, such as physical exertion and additional expenses.

It may also force you to miss an important meeting or event abroad. Your expensive hotel booking or an important event for the day may go to waste. With airline insurance, you don’t have to worry about these issues and subsequent losses. Your flight insurance will cover such losses because of flight delays.

Missed Connection Flight

While travelling to far-off places, people usually take multiple flights with layovers to reduce cost and avoid long-haul flights. But sometimes there can be a delay in the arrival of an inward flight to the transit airport from which the connecting flight is scheduled.

An elongated delay may result in missing the connecting flight. Not only will it lead to the additional expense of purchasing another ticket but will also lead to suffering a loss at hotel reservations. Flight insurance will cover all these expenses and compensate the insured travelled for any losses incurred.

Flight Hijack

Though very rare, travelling by flight also puts one at the risk of facing a hijack. In case of a hijack, the insured will be paid compensation for the distress and the trouble they had to go through if they have a flight insurance policy.

Medical Emergency

Since life is unpredictable, staying cautious is the smartest way of travelling. Having travel insurance coverage is the right way to avoid mishaps. People without a comprehensive travel insurance plan can benefit from airline insurance as it covers many in-flight medical emergencies. Financial losses because of injuries caused by flight accidents are covered by airline insurance.

How to Buy Airline Insurance?

Getting flight insurance for a journey by air is a quick and hassle-free process. You can buy flight insurance online in just a few minutes. Follow the steps given below to buy an airline insurance policy:

• Compare various airline insurance plans offered by different travel insurers online
• Select the plan that fits all the needs and budget
• Visit the official website of the insurance company offering the selected plan
• Select the airline insurance plan
• Fill up the insurance proposal form
• Pay the premium online
• Submit the form
• Download the flight insurance policy document

Claim Process for International Flight Insurance

The claim procedure for flight insurance is similar to that of a travel insurance policy. You should inform your insurance provider or the assistance provider about an emergency and follow the procedure they recommend. The assistance providers are accessible from all over the globe and provide support at any time of the day.

Make sure to carry all important travel documents during the trip, including the flight insurance document. While photocopies are the easiest to carry, travellers should always carry a soft copy of their policy document. They can keep it on email.

Follow the steps given below to file a flight insurance claim:

• Intimate the insurer or the assistance provider about the claim
• Collect all the documents necessary for the claim
• Send the supporting documents via email or by post
• Once the insurer verifies the claim, they will reimburse your claim.

FAQs